Morning_Witch

I started out kind of slow, but I'm building some confidence and momentum. I'm also beginning to feel the effects of the yoga and walking. I know I said I would be doing yoga in the morning, and I said that because it used to work really well for me. I missed doing yoga in the morning a few days ago, though and decided to throw it in after my evening walk. It worked out so nicely and I was just deliciously tired enough to get a great night's sleep. I have pretty much successfully cut out liquid calories. Like giving up coffee, it was surprisingly easy once I made up my mind.

Thanks for the encouragement, guys!

Ok, this is my second challenge and though I feel a little more prepared this time around, I'm not going to tempt fate. I'm going to bring change into my life slowly, but surely. 30 minutes of morning yoga 5 days a week +2 STR, +3 WIS I'm going to begin with 5 minutes of seated meditation, then I will do as many rounds of Sun Salutation as I am able to in 20 minutes, hopefully with an increase seen each week. I will end with 5 minutes of savasana. This is about as basic yoga as it gets, but I'm out of practice. 30 minutes of walking 4 times per week +3 STA, +1 DEX Yeah, I really need to move. I've been making the mistake of trying to wait until I have somewhere to go to get out and walk. I'm giving up waiting; I'm going to walk for the sake of walking. I'm going to set a timer on my phone to 15 minutes and just go. When time is up, I will turn around and walk home. Spend 30 minutes outside every day +2 CHA, +1 WIS Since I began taking online classes, I've become a bit of a recluse. I'm going to be more social for my own sanity. Making myself leave the house will also give me some motivation to put on real clothes every day, instead on lounging about in pj's. Oh, and the 30 minutes of walking doesn't count. Remove liquid calories from diet +3 CON ​Last challenge I gave up coffee, but I increased my intake of other sugary drinks. From here on out, I am a person who only drinks water, unsweetened tea, and milk, except on special occasions (birthdays, holidays).

I tracked my goals using the app "Lift" and I had an 80% success rate in reaching all of my goals. I kind of cracked during finals week, but I got bak on track afterwards, and surprisingly, with greater ease. Switch from coffee with creamer to plain tea. +2 STA, +3 CON ​B+ Stop picking at my skin. +2 CHA, +1 WIS, +2 CON C Get to bed by midnight. +2 CON, + 3 STA B I think I'll divy up the points this way, though, so I have whole numbers: CON 6, WIS 1, CHA 1, STA 4. I think it actually matches what I gained very well.

I tracked my goals using the app "Lift" and I had an 80% success rate in reaching all of my goals. I kind of cracked during finals week, but I got bak on track afterwards, and surprisingly, with greater ease. Switch from coffee with creamer to plain tea. +2 STA, +3 CON Stop picking at my skin. +2 CHA, +1 WIS, +2 CON Get to bed by midnight. +2 CON, + 3 STA I think I'll divy up the points this way, though, so I have whole numbers: CON 6, WIS 1, CHA 1, STA 4. I think it actually matches what I gained very well.

I think that your goals seem to fit in with "druidism" in that they are well balanced. For me, being a druid is about finding my center, sort of a healthy home base. That would seem to be an integral part of sending lupus into remission, as well as recovering your strength after a round of steroid therapy. Good luck to you! By the way, my name's Erin, too.

Day 4 No coffee! I have been doing really great with this one so far. It has been so much easier than I thought. I stocked up on different kinds of tea and fix myself a big mug whenever I feel like I need some coffee. I'm beginning to think that what I really liked about drinking coffee was just having something warm to drink. I think I get enough caffeine from the tea to prevent headaches, but not enough to get me wired. No picking! This has been absolute the hardest challenge for me this round. I found myself almost falling for this several times when I was working on my research project. Its just something I resort to when I'm concentrating. I need to find another outlet for my hands. Get to bed by midnight! Success so far. Late night is when I relax in the living room with my husband. Well, he likes to watch TV shows on Netflix and it is ridiculously easy to just keep playing the next episode until the sun comes up. I have learned that I have to just ditch him in the living room by 11:30, before I get caught up in the next episode of Numb3rs, too.

I was hesitant to sign up the 6 week challenge because I am so new to this site. My goals are going to be VERY SIMPLE because I have a tendency to overwhelm myself. 1. Switch from coffee with creamer to plain tea. +2 STA, +3 CON 2. Stop picking at my skin. +2 CHA, +1 WIS, +2 CON 3. Get to bed by midnight. +2 CON, + 3 STA Every week I adhere to a goal, I earn 20% of the respective points for that goal. The overall outcome should be increased resilience by learning better coping skills while ditching bad habits.

I like to focus on breath, probably because it is so simple and it has an immediate physiological and mental impact. There are also so many variations that it can be applied anytime, anywhere, with anyone. I started meditation when I was in middle school to deal with depression and anxiety. I have been teaching both of my sons (5 and 7) meditation and breath control. My 5 year old has an extreme temper, and he is learning to focus on his breath whenever he gets upset.

That is pretty much the same way I found nerd fitness. I googled "train to be a superhero." I wish I could give you some tips on going paleo, but after joining this site, I realized thats pretty much how I eat most of the time anyway, except with less meat and more super-sweetened coffee. So the transition's not that big for me. One of the most common meals in my house is omelets and frittatas. I love eggs for protein because they come in these nice little single serving packages. Then I load them up with frozen spinach, onions, mushrooms, green chile, tomatoes, olives, and some cottage cheese. They are super easy to make and they are delicious (really, I hate cooking and I'm not very good at). Salads don't have to be bland, either. Here are some of the things I like to use often in my salads: avocado, strawberries, walnuts, radishes, bell pepper, kidney beans, and balsamic vinegar. I hope that gives you some ideas for getting more vegetables. Best of luck! BTW, nice pic.

Yeah, I had to give up coffee entirely because I won't drink in black. I've been using partially-hydrogenated creamer crap, which is probably worse than caffeine. But I can drink chai with absolutely zero sugar or milk. After the past 4 days of drinking chai instead of coffee, I'm wondering why I didn't do this sooner. My underpants are web surfing. I feel like I have to research everything to the nth level. And then I pin it or clip it to evernote, never to look at it again. I decided rather that take the ridiculous amount of time to build the PERFECT workout for myself, I'm just going to find the opportunities that are already there. I know some friends who have started doing Insanity together. I figure I might as well try it to see if I like it. Its still research, I guess, but its more like field work. It will get me off the computer and out of the house.